Assembly Points
A documentary series exploring how a city shapes a person, and how a person shapes the city.
I am seeking places and founders who wish to be part of this narrative.
A place and its maker shape each other.
Every place in the city begins as one person’s interest, taste, or stubborn idea. Then, the city works back on its maker in turn: on their work, their free time, their habits. Almost nobody mentions that second half.
I consider both sides.
How the city shaped the founder, and what the founder changed in the city: a café, a studio, a gastrobar. We talk at your place, and I film it on an ordinary day.
Person, place, mechanism.
Every episode runs in this order.
01
Person
Why this person undertook the action.
02
Place
What emerged within the city.
03
Place
What emerged within the city.
No episode ends with a happy ending.
Problem
A standard interview treats the founder like an exhibit, omitting any details about setbacks or failures.
Idea
I synthesized three narrative structures from Kurt Vonnegut—the climb, the pit, and the horizon—and stacked them together. The final act is intentionally left open-ended.
Solution
Each script is structured with three acts and four turning points; for instance, the hero is positioned in the room during the first week instead of behind the bar.
Result
Scripts and interview questions have been developed for the first three characters. Filming is scheduled to begin in [month].
A logo constructed from a circle and a line.
Problem
Moscow city media either look like a glossy magazine or a city hall website.
Idea
A city assembled from people, so a logotype assembled from two shapes. The dot also functions independently: as an avatar, map pin, or rubric mark.
Solution
A single stroke weight for every letter (the draft varied by 22%), four lockups, and a color palette limited to black, white, and a signal blue for actions.
Result
One unified system for video titles, print materials, social posts, and maps.
The first 18 seconds are the hero’s.
Problem
The interview shows open with the host, the logo, and a jingle.
Idea
Ours opens with a line from the protagonist, before any title or music.
Solution
Lower thirds positioned on a grid of 1/36 of the frame height, chapter cards for person, place, and mechanism, and a four-minute segment near the end where the music cuts out.
Result
Title presets for horizontal and vertical video, ready before the first shoot.
The first three heroes.
Yura Yakovlev
Co-founder of Piri Piri on Petrovka.
Olesya Volkhonskaya
Perfumer, founder of VLH.
Kristina Artemkina
Co-founder of Meteorite bistro and KIP gastrobar.
Where the story continues after the episode.
Episode
20–30 minutes, on YouTube and VK Video
Vertical Clips
30–60 seconds, cut from the sharpest moment of the story
Telegram
The step-by-step guide: programs, grants, deadlines
Assembly Map
Your location as a dot, noting the year it opened
Almanac
A printed feature in «Moscow. Aesthetics»
Zine
A printed collection featuring interviews and photos
What we ask of you.
One day
At your place, plus an honest conversation.
In return
The episode, [3–5] short vertical videos you can post yourself, your listing on the Map of Assembly, and a page in the printed almanac.
How it works.
1. I swing by for coffee. Forty minutes, no camera.
2. You receive the questions in advance.
3. Filming takes one day: one camera, a clip-on mic, a typical day at your location.
4. You review the facts before the release.
5. The episode airs, and your place is marked on the map.
Why work with me.
